Elastic Leadership

Chapter 21. Spread your workload

by John Hill

During my many years of experience as a team lead (albeit only recently in software development), I’ve seen other team leads “flog their workhorses.” In many team environments, there will be members who are less likely to willingly accept tasks they don’t enjoy—the complainers (they kick up a stink)—and those who get their heads down and complete any task that you give them—the reliables. I’ve seen many team leaders, including me in my early years, give the less fun jobs to the reliables, as there’s less chance of resistance and conflict.

In the short term, this strategy may work in your favor, but there are some repercussions:

• The team as a whole may begin to pass work off to the reliables. ...